New Persuasive Presentations Blog
Thank you for following me on The Grab
My blog has now been incorporated into my website, you can view it here www.persuasivepresentations.com.au
I look forward to seeing you there!
Regards
Sharon Ferrier
Stand up, Speak up & Persuade. New Public Workshop – August 19th, 2015
Does the thought of delivering a presentation scare you?
Do you want to learn how to be confident in front of a group, think on your feet and deliver a persuasive and engaging presentation?
Then this course is for you!
I only do a few public workshops per year – my next one is at the end of July – Stand Up Speak Up and Persuade works and the lessons learnt stay with you for life.
“I was fortunate enough to attend the “Stand Up, Speak Up and Persuade” course at Scholle. Have attended many courses during my career, but this one has been a clear stand out, and has really stood the test of time. It has continued to resonate with me, and I continue to use the principles when preparing any presentation I do. I couldn’t recommend this course more highly to organisations and people who want really want to make an impact.” Randall Pearce – strategic Sales and Marketing Professional
Now is your time to shine – and I can help.
For more information or to discuss your in-house training needs, flick me an email:
Want to be a leader? Then you’d better speak up!
There are many skills you will need to master if you want to be a leader. You will need to be able to manage change, be a strategic thinker, have high integrity and of course, be an exceptional communicator.
Great leaders listen, empathise and consult, but they also need to be confident and have the ability to inspire and influence people. This is where public speaking comes in. In leadership, it is a deal breaker – if you are not seen and heard you cannot lead.
Here are three examples of people speaking up and demonstrating their leadership.
- Fix the feelings
What would you do if you were piloting the first flight after the Germanwings flight 4U9525 was purposely crashed into the side of a mountain?
This is what pilot Frank Woiton did.
He greeted and hugged each passenger as they boarded the plane. He openly spoke about the incident and said:
“Sure, I will take your from Dusseldorf to Barcelona. You can rely on the fact that I want to sit this evening with my family at the dinner table.”
Another unnamed pilot on a different flight stood at the front of the plane and spoke about how the incident touched him and the whole crew, how queasy they were all feeling but they all volunteered to be here. He spoke about his family and that ‘..he was going to do everything to be with his family again tonight.’
It’s hard when you need to speak when emotions are high. Great leaders don’t ignore how people are feeling,
they speak up.
- Own it
Great leaders deliver clear, strong messages. They do not mince their words, and they do not shy away from delicate issues.
When Chief of Army General David Morrison addressed the issue of reports of abuse of women in the army he made his stance very clear:
“Female soldiers and officers have proven themselves worthy… they are vital to us maintaining our capability now, and in the future.. If that does not suit you, get out!”
“Show moral courage and take a stand against it..the standard you walk past is the standard you accept”
I also like the medium he chose to deliver the message. Speaking on national television wan’t enough, he posted the speech on YouTube and it now has over 1.6 million views
If you haven’t seen it yet, it only goes for three minutes and it will make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. You can view it Here
- Be true to yourself
Regardless of your political stance you can’t help but admire Julie Bishop. As Australia’s first female Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs she is highly educated, smart as a whip and has a travel schedule that would bring Richard Branson to his knees. And she manages all of this in pearls, heels and a killer suit.
She is not afraid to say what is on her mind and speak up.
“…women can’t have it all. They can have plenty of choices, but at the end of the day, they choose something which means they can’t have something else…”
“I’m a great supporter of free speech, but there are limitations on free speech. There are legal limitations on it, and we’re trying to strike a balance in this country. But if someone is promoting (terrorism)… we want to make that an offence in Australia.”
And if you ask her a stupid question, be prepared for her famous death stare!
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I’ll also sneak in a special commendation to Pat Rafter from Tennis Australia who was verbally assaulted earlier this month by Bernard Tomic’s father for his ‘hard line funding stance.’
He came back and said:
“We’ve talked amongst our team and we have decided we are now not going to support kids whose parents are vocally against everything we’re trying to do.”
and followed it up in The Weekend Australian with:
“Tennis Australia is about opportunity not entitlement.”
Well said Pat!
Stand Up, Speak Up & Persuade 22nd July 2015
Does the thought of delivering a presentation scare you?
Do you want to learn how to be confident in front of a group, think on your feet and deliver a persuasive and engaging presentation?
Then this course is for you!
I only do a few public workshops per year – my next one is at the end of July – Stand Up Speak Up and Persuade works and the lessons learnt stay with you for life.
“I was fortunate enough to attend the “Stand Up, Speak Up and Persuade” course at Scholle. Have attended many courses during my career, but this one has been a clear stand out, and has really stood the test of time. It has continued to resonate with me, and I continue to use the principles when preparing any presentation I do. I couldn’t recommend this course more highly to organisations and people who want really want to make an impact.” Randall Pearce – strategic Sales and Marketing Professional
Now is your time to shine – and I can help.
For more information or to discuss your in-house training needs, flick me an email:
Is It Time To Ban PowerPoint?
Last month in the Australian Financial Review Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer was quoted as saying “I think one of the dangers in large companies is that people start to think that their job is to create PowerPoints, [rather than] to make decisions and improve things for customers…. I am seriously considering turning PowerPoint off completely,”
He is not the first CEO to feel this way. In 1997 Scott McNealy, then president of Sun Microsystems, banned the use of PowerPoint throughout his company.
Should you be doing the same?
Or maybe you just need to get a big stick and empower your team and beat PowerPoint into submission
1. Look at your company communication culture
Often when I suggest to a client that they need to change the way deliver their PowerPoints they respond with “Oh, we can’t do that. Our manager supplies the templates and slide headings and we MUST do it this way!”
Forcing people to use PowerPoint is forcing them into ‘lecture mode’. People start telling rather than selling and presentations become predictable long winded and boring.
Your company communication culture starts at the top. Are your managers delivering great presentations or are they presenting with PowerPoint circa 1995?
2. Put PowerPoint last
Many people, when asked to deliver a presentation, open their laptops and start cranking out slides. Instead you should be:
- Setting an objective
- Tailoring your message to your audience
- Developing your topic
- Structure your presentation
- Making it persuasive
- Including a call to action
PowerPoint should be the last thing on your list before you start practicing and you may find that your presentation is better off without it!
3. ‘Flip’ your meetings
This idea comes from the flipped classroom model, where instead of teachers delivering lectures, information is sent out before for the students to read and class time is dedicated to discussion which the teacher facilitates.
How this would work for you
Instead of your team delivering a PowerPoint presentation they would instead email an executive summary of their recommendations and then facilitate discussion on the pros, cons and recommended improvements for the idea.
So there is no need to ban PowerPoint – you just need to learn how to use it to your advantage. If all this sounds a little scary, it’s okay, I’m here to help!
Stand Up, Speak Up & Persuade – March 26th 2015
Does the thought of delivering a presentation scare you?
Do you want to learn how to be confident in front of a group, think on your feet and deliver a persuasive and engaging presentation?
Then this course is for you!
I only do a few public workshops per year – my next one is at the end of March – Stand Up Speak Up and Persuade works and the lessons learnt stay with you for life.
“I was fortunate enough to attend the “Stand Up, Speak Up and Persuade” course at Scholle. Have attended many courses during my career, but this one has been a clear stand out, and has really stood the test of time. It has continued to resonate with me, and I continue to use the principles when preparing any presentation I do. I couldn’t recommend this course more highly to organisations and people who want really want to make an impact.” Randall Pearce – strategic Sales and Marketing Professional
Now is your time to shine – and I can help.
For more information or to discuss your in-house training needs, flick me an email:
Stand up, Speak up & Persuade – July 29th 2014
So you want to be a confident speaker? You want to be able to think on your feet? You want to be able to put together a persuasive presentation easily and quickly?
Great! I’ll see you at my Stand up, Speak up and Persuade workshop!
- Date: Tuesday July 29th 2014
- Venue: Education Development Centre, Milner St, Hindmarsh SA (Only 5 mins out of the city)
- Still only $550.00!
This workshop is limited to 10 participants only – so I can focus on your needs.
“Sharon is able to transform people into good presenters that thought they might not otherwise be”
Want more information? Email me for a flyer or call me as I’d love to have a chat.
Make your stats sing!
Maybe it is just me, but I start to hyperventilate when I see a wall of numbers. I then experience a rapid slide into narcolepsy when they say “Oh, the text is a little small… you may not be able to see this at the back.” If you are numerically impaired like me, this is your worst nightmare.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
Here are three ways to bring your facts to life and make your stats sing.
1. Make them visual
Professor Edward Tufte, a pioneer in data visualisation challenges us to do away with ‘chartjunk’ and communicate with data rich illustrations. A good starting point when using PowerPoint it is to make use of the SmartArt tools to create diagrams and models.
If you still feel the need to show the whole shebang, consider putting a semitransparent box over the irrelevant information and enlarging the data you want us to focus on. Or you may want to try PREZI which enables you to zoom in on specific information and see its relevance in the big picture.
I cover these skills in my “Escaping PowerPoint Purgatory” course – contact me for more information.
2. KISS (Keep it simple, silly)
In business communication clarity is king. Your Ph.D. tells me you’re smart… Now show me how smart you really are by explaining it in a way that I get it:
- Eliminate jargon as it adds to my cognitive load and makes me feel dumb
- Structure your presentation so it is logical and easy to follow
- Simplify your graphs and diagrams so that they read like a billboard and I can see at a glance what you are trying to say
- Provide ‘snacks’ – snippets of information that I can process quickly and easily
- Put the detail in the handout.
William Butler Yeats said “Think like a wise man, but communicate in the language of the people.” This is not about dumbing down, it is about speaking simply and clearly and ensuring your message sticks.
3. So what?
Make your statistics meaningful. In their book ‘Made to stick’ Dan and Chip Heath tell us that in surveying their students after a series of speeches, 63% of the students remember the stories and only 5% of the students remember any individual statistic.
Several years ago I heard a speech delivered by a doctor from the American Cancer Society. It was shortly after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre. This is a paraphrase of what he said:
“September 11 was a tragic day in American history. But do you realise that we have the equivalent of two jumbo jets filled with people crashing into the earth everyday as a result of death caused by preventable cancers?”
He took the ‘thousands of people who die from preventable cancers’ statistic and related it to a number we could comprehend. He also added an emotional link that made it resonate and made it memorable.
A great example of ‘making your statistics sing’ is provided in the TED talk by Hans Rosling. If you can’t watch it all – just make sure you watch it to the five minute mark.
Stand up, Speak up and Persuade – Exclusively for Women
Women do have special needs when it come to public speaking. Studies show that women are heard less at meetings and tend to self promote less as well.
Everyone is capable of giving a persuasive presentation. All you need are the stories/facts, skills and confidence. If you work on the first two, the third, i.e. your confidence, will definitely improve!
Please see information below on my first specialised public speaking course for women which is being hosted in Adelaide by Behind Closed Doors.
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In response to overwhelming feedback we have received from our behind closed doors members on presentation and public speaking workshops conducted by Sharon Ferrier, we are planning a Persuasive Presentations Workshop specifically for business women during May.
If you report to boards, manage teams, pitch for business or venture/angel capital, are in sales and business development roles, conduct meetings and need to make presentations or do public speaking, these workshops are a must for you.
Sharon Ferrier has agreed to conduct a special two session workshop for business women who want to speak up, deliver with confidence and be persuasive.
Date: Wednesday, 15 May and Wednesday, 22 May 2013 (you must attend both sessions)
Time: 9am – 12.30pm each session
The investment is a special BCD price of $495 plus GST
Contact Kristy Ashton from Behind Closed Doors (BCD) for more information
t 08 8333 4303 e kristy@dwbottomline.com
Ahhhh Charisma!
So, what is your CQ? (Charisma Quotient)
Here are five skills that charismatic people display and how you can develop them.
1. Charismatic people have a high EQ
Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is the ‘ability to identify, assess and control the emotions of oneself, of others and of groups.’
In other words, charismatic people realise that we are all emotional beings and that they are able to recognise their own and others emotions and react accordingly. This is important for building rapport and creating a connection with others.
So… Get in touch with your emotions. Smile and demonstrate warmth and friendliness when working with people.
One other thing….
Charismatic people come in all sizes, shapes and colours. Don’t think you need to be an extrovert to be charismatic. There have been many introverts who are high in the CQ rating. Think Steve Jobs, Mother Theresa, Tenzin Gyatso and Dianna, Princess of Wales. It’s all about being true to yourself and letting yourself shine…
I admire Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey and Winston Churchill (and I don’t think I would be upset to be stuck in an elevator with George Clooney…) But we can also look locally.
THE GRAB - How to grab their attention and make your message stick! 